Sunday, November 29, 2009

Old Town Temecula Shoot

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with other fellow photographers to photowalk, shoot a few portraits, and of course, eat! We had a great time sharing lighting techniques and photographing this fabulous trio. Thanks to Kevin's three kids for being such awesome models. :o)

Here are a few that I liked:










Love this one!






More from our photowalk to come later!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a holiday that used to stress me out like an exam I knew I hadn't studied for. This year I kept it simple. I handpicked the things I would buy premade, and the things I would cook. This took a lot of the work away, so I was able to enjoy a nice glass of wine while the food was cooking :o) Oh, and did I mention I stayed in my sweats most of the day? :oD

Hope your Thanksgiving was warm and cheerful! :o)

Cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies



Mmm...


Friday, November 27, 2009

Movie Review - Precious

My friend Marisol and I love to watch Oprah. Okay, you can stop rolling your eyes now :oP Of course when the previews for "Precious" came out and Oprah was plugging it, we had to see it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect to see an eclectic mix of emotional, disturbing, and at times comical performances from just about the entire cast. The movie depicted a very real aspect of human nature, and just put it out there in this film. I think we all left the theatre with a greater appreciation for what we have in our lives. Definitely worth seeing if you get the chance.

On a brighter note, after the movie ended, one of my friends saw a gentleman that "really looked like a famous person." She couldn't quite remember who he was, and was really on the defense about approaching him for fear that we would be bugging him on his Friday night. Of course, she got over that, and approached him after the movie. It turned out that he was one of the security guards in the movie "Night at the Museum" with Ben Stiller. How cool is that?! Thank goodness one of the girls had the guts to ask for a photo op. Hey, I'm only here to provide a camera! ;o)


New Logo

After much thought, I decided to refine my logo to something I could work with more in terms of marketing. Here's what I came up with. :o)














Happy Birthday Jon @ Tam O' Shanter Inn

I met Jon a little over a year ago, and every now and then you meet people who make you feel like you've known them for a lot longer than you actually have. Jon is one of these people. He's a Nikon shooter, and we get along fabulously. He loves to travel and gets sad when he's at an airport and isn't going anywhere. He eats really slow (really, this is something you have to witness in person)! His car has been stolen twice and they keep bringing it back! Hahahaha... Ok, now for the pictures :oD

The decor was crazy! I felt like Harry Potter and his gang were gonna show up any minute :o)




Megz and Sharm brought him this yummy taro cake...it was DELISH!




So special that he has TWO birthday cakes! Happy 13th Birthday!:oD Hahaha.



Okay, so the picture above was actually a retake. We wanted the perfect expression on his face, so I relighted the candles, and we all shot him again :o)

Friday, November 20, 2009

The California Coast

A few weeks ago, I drove up the coast of California along Big Sur, all the way to Hearst Castle and Big Sur. It was AMAZING. Here are a few shots for now. Full story and post to come later :o)

Hearst Castle



Gorgeous coastline



Inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Twilight Opening Night

Sitting there amidst the throngs of hyper, excited,and overly charged teen fans of the twilight series, I had to wonder, "Uh, what am I doing here, and why am I not in bed sleeping?"

The last time I waited in a line after midnight for a movie opening night was back in college (circa 1998) for "Star Wars" and even then I fell asleep hehehe. Yes, I was a bit concerned about it, but once the previews started, the energy in the room really kept me awake. It was almost comical to hear the oooooh's and aaaah's over Edward and Jacob's hot bods. The movie itself struck me as a cleverly written formula designed to entice young and hormonal teenage girls...and it worked! OH NO! Am I a teenage girl? Hehehehe...I still recall the first scene in which Jacob takes his shirt off, revealing what looked like a good couple months of torture at the gym (which paid off of course hehe). For the remainder of the movie, I mocked that scene and the scenes to follow by exclaiming, "Take your shirt off!" at each chance I got. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I have become one of *those* people ;o) My overall rating? Movie: C, Acting: B-, Hot Bods: A++ :oD

Knowing I was going to be waiting what seemed like a short lifetime before we actually would get into the movie, I brought along my camera to document this intrigueing event :o)

Pork buns and Thai iced tea before the movie? Yes, please. ;o)



iphones and magazines...oh how they entertain us :o)



Fortunately, everyone else got in the line earlier and was able to save us some seats. We ended up just chillin' outside while people were frantically trying to get in line. I asked one of the movie theatre attendance to take our chillaxed picture :o)



It's 3 am when we get out of the movie...and I *had* to take a picture with the chipmunks! :oD Hehehe...



If you're expecting a cinematic masterpiece, do NOT go see this movie...but if you want to indulge in some good old fashioned CHEESE, then RUN *NOW* to this movie :o)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Sharm & Megz - Salton Sea

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to photograph a great couple who everyone lovingly refers to as Sharmegz. Y'know, kinda like "Brangelina"? ;o) I thought it was quite clever! For those of you who don't know and/or have never been, Salton Sea is this vast sea (well, lake actually) that has been decaying for a long time. Despite the pungent stench and bleak surroundings, it still remains one of my favorite places to shoot. Sharmegz is a lovely couple, so it contrasted quite nicely with Salton Sea surroundings. Here's a few of my fave shots of them!

This was taken at Salvation Mountain. If you ever get the opportunity to go out there, make sure you stop by this place. A photographer's dream, I promise! :o)












That's all for now...more to come later! :o)